CMS - The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of
European Bats

Many bat species migrate. For some species these movements may
be local; for others they may involve distances of thousands of
miles, crossing national borders. Some European bat populations
have undergone severe declines in the recent past. The reasons for
this are mainly loss of roosts and feeding areas, poisoning from
increased use of pesticides, and misunderstanding and prejudice
arising from ignorance about bats and their lives and habits. If
bats are to be properly protected, conservation activities need to
be undertaken at an international level, over the entire migratory
range of these species.

The Agreement on the Conservation of
Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS) was
concluded in London, UK in September 1991, and came into force in
January 1994. The title of the Agreement makes it clear that
bio-geographical, rather than political, boundaries define the
Agreement area. The Agreement aims to address threats to all 45
species of bats identified in Europe arising from habitat
degradation, disturbance of roosting sites and harmful pesticides.
To this end, Parties to the Agreement agree to work through
legislation, education, conservation measures and international
cooperation with other Agreement members and with those who have
not yet joined.

In 1995, the First Session of the Meeting of Parties to the
Agreement formed an Action Plan, which was to be translated into
international action. They established an Advisory Committee to
carry forward this Plan between the Meetings of Parties. The
EUROBATS Secretariat was established by the First Session of the
Meeting of Parties in 1995. It started working in Bonn, Germany in
1996, and has been co-located with the Secretariat of the
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and other environment and
development-related United Nations institutions in Bonn,
Germany.

The most significant items for the Advisory Committee are
monitoring and international activities. International-protection
measures for bats have, above all, to concentrate on those species
which migrate the furthest across Europe, in order to identify and
address possible dangers caused by bottle-neck situations on their
migratory routes.

JNCC support Government by providing
information for the annual UK National Report, which collates
information on bat conservation activities across the UK, and
provides scientific advice to Government at Advisory Committee
Meetings and Meetings of the Parties.